


Chemistry

by PepperCat



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Cologne, M/M, Pre-Slash, Random Gifts, Theft, mentioned hook-up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-31
Updated: 2017-07-31
Packaged: 2018-12-09 05:06:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 935
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11662224
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PepperCat/pseuds/PepperCat
Summary: Checking with your roommate about what cologne he uses doesn't have to be weird.And yet.





	Chemistry

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Sister_Grimm](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sister_Grimm/gifts), [Ihateallergies](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ihateallergies/gifts).



> The idea of Hartley having a bottle of really nice cologne from before he got kicked out is from lun3lla's post [here](http://lun3lla.tumblr.com/post/133631379982/for-the-character-head-canon-thing-how-about); I think that that's [Ihateallergies](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Ihateallergies/pseuds/Ihateallergies) on AO3? (If I'm wrong, please let me know.)
> 
> The idea of Axel noticing the smell and caring about it one way or another is my continuing PipeBomb geekery. Set, loosely, after [Very little soil, no care, no culture](http://archiveofourown.org/works/8285366) but doesn't have to have happened, if that makes sense.
> 
> Also dear _god_ some colognes get expensive.

Axel should be asleep, but he catnaps sometimes; Hartley woke up enough to hear him stagger in hours after any place with a license had closed, and now he's leaning in the bathroom doorway. He'd leave if he was told to, let Hartley get back to brushing his teeth and waking up in peace, but Hartley's gotten distracted by the palm-sized looks-like-glass bottle on the edge of the sink and hasn't dredged up the words yet.

His first thought is _did I leave that in here_ and then he realizes that this isn't his bottle; his is nearly empty and this one is two-thirds full. And the tiny chip in the corner's missing.

He recognizes the name and logo tastefully etched into the surface. It still might be glass, a clever copy, but he picks it up (and hears Axel make a small content noise behind him, somewhere between a hum and a purr) and the weight puts the lie to that; it's crystal-heavy in his hand. And two-thirds full is still a third used, so it's neither store-bought nor store-stolen, not that he'd expect Axel to wander into the kind of store where you can buy Clive Christian cologne.

"Where did you get this?" Hartley's looking at the bottle, still. He's more curious than anything else, he thinks.

"It's the stuff you use, right?" Which is not an _answer_ , properly speaking, but it's too early for Hartley to really feel annoyed yet.

 _Sometimes. For a little while longer. Until the bottle runs out._ "Yes." Hartley sets the bottle back down and glances over his shoulder, pulls his gaze up to Axel's face. The other man's wearing boxers but no T-shirt, and the light dappling of scratches and bruises on bare skin is— distracting or annoying, Hartley isn't sure which. His face is fine to look at, though. "Why?"

"I was guessing." Axel grins. "Cool. 's yours." He waves one of his hands casually towards the sink; Hartley thinks he sees the ghost of bruises on the back of Axel's hand, and imagines him palm to palm with someone else, fingers laced together, clenching in the moment.

"I'm sorry?"

Axel shrugs. "Toss it if you don't want it, I don't mind."

That still doesn't tell Hartley whether or not Axel knows what he's offering (there are cheaper blends, but those don't come in crystal bottles), but he decides to set that aside for the moment. "Where did you get it?" he says again.

There's that contented murmuring purr again, and Axel takes a step into the bathroom. Hartley picks up the bottle again for something to do and looks at the reflection of Axel behind him in the mirror over the sink. His own reflection hides some of the scratches and bruises on Axel, this way.

"Some guy down at Pulse," Axel says idly. Hartley wrinkles his nose. "Thought it might be the stuff you use. When you dress up, I mean." He's smiling a little, and Hartley can't see an edge to it, but it's still— well, actually, he can't decide if it's disconcerting. He needs coffee if he's going to deal with this.

"When have you ever seen my cologne?" If Axel's been in his room he  _is_ going to wake up enough to have a fight, dammit.

"Don't need to see it to know what is smells like. Kinda." That casual handwave again, closer this time. Hartley can feel the hair on the back of his neck lift a little, Axel's gesture stirring the air in the enclosed space. "I wondered if this was it or not, figured you'd tell me."

"I'm—" Hartley looks back at the bottle. "I'm perfectly happy to confirm that yes, it is the blend I use, but I'd rather not take a gift you got from your inamorato. Thank you."

Axel laughs. "Wasn't a gift."

"You stole this?" Hartley isn't shocked and doesn't sound it; it's more of a— well, _of course_ he did. Axel picks things up sometimes, and isn't hugely concerned with details like prior ownership or payment.

"Picked it up on my way out. He thought he was slumming anyway." Axel grins and leans forward, rests one hand on the sink and looks into the mirror as Hartley moves aside. Personal space is another thing Axel isn't that concerned with, sometimes. Hartley can see the ghost of fingernails in the back of Axel's shoulder, and the room really  _does_ feel too small, Axel too close, even if he's distinctly not moving nearer. "He'll wake up and find out it's missing, get a morning-after thrill. And I did wanna know if it was the stuff you use. I was _curious_." Hartley's pretty sure Axel's parroting back something he's heard Hartley talk about earlier, reference or in-joke or how-could-you-blame-me justification. He's looking thoughtful, insofar as he ever does. "It smelled almost right but not quite, you know?"

Hartley nods a little, stiffly, and from somewhere manages to find the words "Essential oils do react slightly differently to different skin chemistries."

"Guess his chemistry was a little off," Axel says mildly. "Works better with you." He rakes his fingers back through his hair and yawns, turns the thoughtful look on Hartley and gives him a sleepy smile. "I'm gonna crash again. Wake me up if you decide to hit the Din?"

Hartley can't come up with anything to say in response to that, and Axel's gone again. He looks down at the bottle he's still holding, and sets it carefully back on the edge of the sink. The entire matter, he thinks, can wait until after coffee.

**Author's Note:**

> ...possibly about three cups of coffee into the day, it will dawn on Hartley that Axel's description of events can encompass "I found someone who smelled like you do and so I hooked up with him."


End file.
